In episode 44 of the Smarter SMSF podcast, Aaron is joined by Kevin Bungard, CEO of Class Limited to discuss the release of the June 2018 Benchmark Report, titled 'the great pension squeeze'.  In this session, Aaron and Kevin discuss just how much impact from a taxation perspective the super reforms have on Government revenues, in particular with the introduction of the transfer balance cap and the taxation of transition to retirement income streams (TRISs).  They discuss current and future policy settings including the proposed measures of the Labor Government to remove franking credit refunds, in addition to the Productivity Commission's draft report that contemplated a $1.0m balance as a comparative figure for SMSFs.  

In episode 43 of the Smarter SMSF podcast, Aaron takes a look back at his open letter to the profession from the 2014 inaugural Future of SMSF report and reflects upon just how the SMSF sector has evolved during this time.  Legislative change from 1 July 2017, Regulatory change (and more to come), and rapid technology advancement are all impacting the way in which new trustees are entering the SMSF space and also how practitioners look to serve the needs of new and existing funds. Aaron shares some of his observations of topical issues over the past few years and provides some insights into what this might mean as we head into the future of SMSF.  Importantly, this aligns back to the very reason as to why Smarter SMSF has created this year's Future of SMSF survey to help shape a smarter SMSF future.

The shift in the SMSF sector has been happening for some time, but the impact of the super reforms amongst a range of other issues has magnified the focus for professionals to consider real change in their practice more than ever before.  In this week's episode 42, Aaron talks about the need for real change within the SMSF sector and how this forms the basis of his reason for creating this year's Future of SMSF survey.   Change is coming from all directions - some of it in response to the outcomes from the Royal Commission and ASIC's focus on the quality of SMSF advice.  Add to this the efficiency focus impacting SMSFs from the Productivity Commission's initial report into Superannuation competitiveness, ASIC's revised funding model that has impacted the costs borne by approved auditors and the fast paced change occurring with technology, you can start to understand why things are changing and how it is important that as professionals we help shape the sector for a smarter smsf future. To participate in this year's Future of SMSF survey, visit https://smartersmsf.com/futureofsmsf  

We get a lot of praise and questions from people about how well we have embraced cloud-based technology in our business to deliver solutions for our clients.  In many ways, it not what we have that has built success, but what we did with it that defines us.  As we head into the launch of this year's Future of SMSF survey, Aaron 'lift's the hood' in this week's podcast (episode 41) to share some of the tech stack (applications we use) within our business.  He shares what is used internally within the business to manage tasks, opportunities and performance everyday, along with the client-facing tools that help deliver the products and services. There were mistakes along the way, changing applications and continuing to learn and understand what was right to help the business succeed.  Aaron shares some of these stories and helps you to identify what may be important for you in a modern practice building a truly cloud-based solution for your clients.

In episode 40 of the Smarter SMSF podcast, Aaron is joined by Jeevan Tohki, Product Manager at BGL to discuss the changes to the SMSF Annual Return (SAR) for 2017-18.  The new superannuation reforms from 1 July 2017 has meant a raft of amendments to the current SAR that impacts member information such as total superannuation balances, and transition to retirement income streams (TRISs), along with updates to regulatory data including limited recourse borrowing arrangements and CGT relief information where a fund chose to defer under the transitional CGT relief provisions. Aaron and Jeevan explore the impact of these specific changes, including what practitioners should be aware of when looking at the preparation of the financials and SMSF Annual Return for this income year.

In episode 39 of the Smarter SMSF podcast, Aaron shares his views into the evolving SMSF sector today.  Back in 2014, Aaron created the inaugural Future of SMSF report, the first time ever that we gained insights into how practitioners are servicing the needs of trustees, and how their business model operates.  Throughout the past few years, we have seen the continued shift to cloud-technology within the SMSF sector, huge legislative change from 1 July 2017 and ongoing regulatory reform that impacts how professionals engage with trustees.   Aaron discusses these many challenges and opportunities within the sector and talks about why he is again undertaking the Future of SMSF survey again in 2018.  Whilst there is more competition within the sector than ever before, including through an 'índustrialised' focus at the bigger end of town, this is far from the demise for the smaller practitioner.  However, how you respond in the evolution of your SMSF business model will fundamentally determine you success in the future.  In reality, there's never been a more exciting time, and Aaron not only explains why, but aims to explore these further through this year's survey. The Future of SMSF survey launches on Monday, 2 July 2018 and will be available at https://smartersmsf.com/futureofsmsf  

In this week's episode of the Smarter SMSF podcast (episode 38), Aaron is joined by Kevin Bungard, CEO of Class Limited to discuss insights from the March 2018 Benchmark report.  In this quarterly report, Class looked at the continued growth of ETFs within SMSF as part of the fund's investment strategy.  Both Aaron and Kevin discuss some of the rationale for the popularity of ETFs, not only as a low-cost solution, but also providing exposure to markets that trustees typically don't invest in directly (e.g. emerging markets).   In addition, Kevin and Aaron discuss some of the insights from the updated benchmark data around membership, account balances, member phases and more with a focus on understanding what shifts are occuring in the data since the introduction of the new super reform measures from 1 July 2017.

In episode 37 of the Smarter SMSF podcast, Aaron explores the fantastic opportunities presented by the downsizer contribution rules than commence from 1 July 2018.  Whilst the policy intent and explanatory memorandum appear to design the downsizer contribution rules for those who sell their house to 'downsizer', this in practice in not where the strategy considerations end - rather they simply start with the rules in Section 292.102 of the ITAA 1997 provide far wider scope for downsizer contributions that first thought, with opportunities extending to in-specie asset contributions and more. Aaron discusses the key conditions of the downsizer rules, the requirements of the fund's deed to allow such contributions, and the strategic opportunities that these new measures present.

As we move ever so closer to the first due date with SMSFs for event-based reporting, the transfer balance account reporting (TBAR) framework within a practice has very quickly become the most topical issue for practitioners dealing with SMSFs.  With the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) indicating additional reporting being required within the TBAR for pension members with accumulation accounts, it is the impact of the technical nuances with this reporting framework that may see some practitioners come unstuck.  Whilst the ATO will take an educative approach in the early stages of rollout, the failure to effectively implement a system a process within a practice is likely to lead to inefficiencies, but also leakage of events to report in a timely manner. In this week's podcast, Aaron discusses the recent commentary about reporting accumulation phase values as part of the TBAR, the requirements for reporting 2017-18 events and how practices intend on handling TBAR within their practice moving into the new quarterly / annual reporting framework from 1 July 2018.

It is fair to say that we weren't expecting anything too dramatic when it came to superannuation and SMSFs in 2018-19 Federal Budget and the most part we were right.  The Treasurer, Scott Morrison delivered a budget that looked to hand back some of the more than expected revenues generated since the mid-year economic report.  Given that this was most likely the Government's last opportunity to present a budget before the next Federal election, it was always going to have a few 'sweeteners' included.  This extended to SMSFs too... In this podcast, Aaron discusses the proposed measures from the Federal Budget that impacted superannuation and SMSFs more specifically.  This included the announcement to extend the membership of an SMSF from 4 to 6, expanding the work test for certain individuals 65-74 where their total superannuation balance is